The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Chen looked around the room but didn't see a birthday cake. He asked, "Didn't you buy a birthday cake?"

Shen Xiaorong lit the fire: "I don't like cake, so I didn't buy any."

"How can a birthday be without a cake? Whether you eat it or not is not important, the ritual is important."

Chen Shi took out his phone and called Yang Bin, and the call was answered quickly.

Director Chen

"Yang Bin, go buy a cake and bring it to Xiaoqinggou."

"Okay." Yang Bin had just sat down when he got home, but he immediately stood up and started to leave. His wife called out, "The food is almost ready! You just got home, where are you going again?"

"Director Chen asked me to buy a cake and send it to Xiaoqinggou Village. He also told me to cook a meal first, and to leave some vegetables for me."

His wife complained, "Ever since you became Director Chen's personal driver, you haven't had a proper meal."

"Being a leader's personal driver isn't easy; you have to be available at a moment's notice." Yang Bin grabbed his coat and headed outside.

Chen Shi hung up the phone and went into the kitchen: "I'll help you start the fire, you cook."

Shen Xiaorong asked with a smile, "Do you know how to start a fire?"

Chen Shi pulled up a stool and sat down: "I'm also from the countryside. I grew up there. There's nothing I can't do. I can climb trees to steal bird eggs and fish in the river. I'm good at everything."

Chen Shi picked up the fire tongs, scooped out the ashes, put wood chips underneath, and dry firewood on top. The fire quickly started burning.

Shen Xiaorong laughed and said, "You really are a child who grew up in the countryside. There's no country kid who doesn't know how to start a fire."

Chen Shi started the fire, Shen Xiaorong cooked, and the two chatted idly.

More than half an hour later, the food was ready. Yang Bin drove his car, parked it in the yard, and carried the cake inside.

Yang Bin placed the cake on the table: "Director Chen, the cake was made fresh, which took a little time."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "You've worked hard, take a rest."

Shen Xiaorong called out, "Let's eat together, don't leave."

Yang Bin quickly said, "My wife and children are waiting for me at home. Director Chen, you guys eat. I'll go back first and come back later."

Yang Bin drove away, and Shen Xiaorong said, "Brother, next time you come, drive yourself. Don't bother him with all that running around."

Chen Shi brought two chairs and placed them next to the dining table: "This is his job. If I drive myself, he will lose his job."

Shen Xiaorong bought a bottle of wine for Chen Shi, took a glass, filled Chen Shi's glass to the brim, and poured a little into her own glass.

"Brother, I've never drunk alcohol before, so I don't know if I can handle it. I'm so glad you came to celebrate my birthday with me today. Let's have a drink together."

Chen Shi sat down and looked at the dishes on the table. They looked and smelled delicious: Mapo tofu, braised pork ribs, steamed fish, stir-fried bok choy, stir-fried pork, and chicken soup.

"If you can't drink, then don't. Have a soft drink instead. I don't like alcohol either."

Shen Xiaorong also sat down: "Then let's have a drink. It's not good for a man and a woman to get drunk together."

Chen Shi joked, "I'm your brother. Even if I'm drunk, I might still hurt you."

"He's not my biological brother, so it's hard to say."

"How old are you this year? You're already so precocious."

"This is my sixteenth birthday. As a child from the countryside, I mature early. Mentally, I'm at least twenty-six."

Shen Xiaorong looked at Chen Shi: "Brother, do you know? This is the first time I've ever celebrated my birthday."

Chen Shi looked puzzled: "Didn't your dad celebrate your birthday before?"

Shen Xiaorong shook her head: "My unreliable father doesn't even know what day my birthday is."

When I was little, I saw other kids celebrating their birthdays with cake, and I was so envious. I wanted to celebrate my own birthday too, so I told my dad. He beat me up and said, "What's the point of a kid celebrating his birthday?"

From that day on, I hated eating cake and hated celebrating birthdays.

Chen Shi was completely bewildered: "Why?"

"On my birthday, when I eat cake, it reminds me of the beatings my dad gave me when I was a child."

Chen Shi then asked, "So how do you plan to celebrate your birthday now?"

Shen Xiaorong looked at Chen Shi with her bright, watery eyes: "Because of you, I have a good brother. I want to start my life anew, open my heart, and not lock myself in a dark room."

Chen Shi recalled that when he first met Shen Xiaorong, she was very introverted, but now she has gradually become lively and lovely.

"That's why you're not staying in school and are doing part-time work—you want to meet more different people."

Shen Xiaorong nodded: "I want to change my environment. At school, everyone knows me. Teachers and classmates have labeled me as introverted and not good at communicating. At school, I always keep my head down and don't look people in the eye."

This impression is hard to change, and I don't want to change it. It's better to change the environment. Junior high school knowledge is too simple; there's no need to stay in school and waste time.

Chen Shi nodded in agreement: "How did you convince your homeroom teacher to let you out to do part-time work?"

Shen Xiaorong smiled sweetly: "It's very simple. The homeroom teacher only cares about grades. As long as I do well on every test, that's fine."

Exam-oriented education, which focuses solely on grades, is indeed the case.

Shen Xiaorong called out, "Eat your food quickly, or it will get cold. Try my cooking. I'm sixteen years old this year and have eleven years of chef experience. I've been cooking for my family since I was five."

Chen Shi picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of the Mapo Tofu, and nodded repeatedly: "It tastes very good."

"Eat more if you like it." Shen Xiaorong took out serving chopsticks and put some food in Chen Shi's bowl. "Come to my house on weekends when you're free, and I'll cook you something delicious."

She put down the serving chopsticks: "Actually, I have another purpose for doing this part-time job: to accumulate social experience and learn how to deal with people."

Rural children learn to be independent early because of their living conditions and the need to solve the problem of food and clothing. Just like when I was five years old, I started cooking. If I didn't cook, I would go hungry.

Lacking experience in interacting with people, once they leave the countryside, they're practically incapable of anything, like a fool.

While eating, Chen Shi said, "You have a strong learning ability. Now, you are just like a child from the city, poised and confident."

Eat your food, don't just watch me eat.

Shen Xiaorong raised her wine glass: "Brother, I'd like to toast you."

Her cup was level with Chen Shi's, indicating that the two were equals and that she was no less important than Chen Shi, the director of the Education Bureau.

They clinked glasses, Chen Shi took a sip of wine, and Shen Xiaorong took a small sip and exclaimed, "It's so spicy, it doesn't taste good at all."

Chen Shi put down his cup: "The wine wasn't good to begin with."

Shen Xiaorong asked in confusion, "Then why are you still drinking?"

"Without drinking, we can't have many conversations. But alcohol is like a stimulant; the more we talk, the closer we get to each other."

Shen Xiaorong thought for a moment, understood what Chen Shi meant, and nodded: "Drinking is a way of socializing."

Chen Shi gave a thumbs up: "A top student is different. This comprehension ability is absolutely correct."

Shen Xiaorong smiled and asked, "You don't drink in private?"

"If you can avoid drinking it, then do so."

Shen Xiaorong looked at the wine bottle on the table: "I'll save this bottle for you. Have a drink every time you come here."

Chen Shi picked up his wine glass and took a sip: "Okay, I'll come have dinner with you when I have time."

Shen Xiaorong felt a strange sense of happiness as she watched Chen Shi eat the dishes she had made with gusto.

The prince charming she imagined was a man like Chen Shi.